I saw a quote recently from Mel Robbins that said “Start before you’re ready. Don’t prepare, begin.”

I am soo not that person. I think things to death. I overanalyze every decision and have to talk things through with at least three different people and a pro/con list before I can make any decisions. But I haven’t always been that person. And I don’t know that I truly am when it comes right down to it.

To hear my dad describe me, I’m a completely fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants girl. He’s not entirely wrong. I had a dream one night that I went to law school. So I woke up and started looking at acceptance requirements and started studying for the LSAT. I was having brunch with friends one day when the Portland Marathon was running by and despite the fact that I had not run a race in a decade and hadn’t ever run more than four miles, I decided I was going to run a marathon. When a family member was helping with school and then tried to manipulate me and my life because they were making financial contributions, I contacted the financial aid department and told them to no longer accept money from this person.

And when I couldn’t find a job after passing the bar because I graduated in the worst economic period in my entire life (so far…) I hung out my own shingle and got a part-time retail job and just muddled my way through being a professional lawyer person.

I didn’t plan any of these things. I never once thought I would work for myself long term. But I enjoyed that I could take a Tuesday and go to the beach sometimes. I liked the sink-or-swim on my own merit approach.

I literally spent my first day in my office creating my own letterhead and ordering business cards and googling how to start a business. I had zero prior business knowledge, was entirely in debt, and had very little plan on how to earn money. But I was too stubborn to do anything else.

Same goes with the law school decision and the marathon running. I did them both. They were the right fit for me. I’ve stuck with them both.

It is really easy to get bogged down in the paralysis of analysis and take forever to make a decision. But sometimes the most important thing is to just do something. You’ll know relatively quickly if it isn’t the right thing and you can figure out how to pivot and move forward. But you lose all momentum agonizing over a decision and momentum is the key to success. Just. Keep. Going. If something isn’t right for you, choose something else. But just. keep. going.

Make the big move. Do the thing. Take the leap. And then keep going.